Carly Pearce on Dreams and Determination

Since Carly Pearce broke out with her No. 1 hit “Every Little Thing,” the country music community cannot imagine a world without her.

In 2012, the rising artist was signed to another record label in Nashville that had dropped her, but while going home to Kentucky was an option, giving in to those thoughts was never a consideration.

Instead, she visited a tattoo parlor for some new ink. Now on her left forearm reads the quote, “She believed she could so she did.” The inscription is adorned with a feather and a butterfly.

“It’s on the arm where I play guitar so I would look down and never forget that I moved here for music,” she said in our CMT.com interview. “And then the feather and the butterfly are both for my grandparents, which my album is dedicated to them.”

An artist’s determination like Pearce’s inspires others to pursue their passions no matter the risks involved. Big Machine Label Group signed Pearce and released her full-debut in November.

“I dreamt as a little girl somebody one day, when somebody said, ’Who do you love in country music,’ them saying my name. And just to think that maybe that could be the case is overwhelming and what I always wanted.”

Pearce’s follow-up single “Hide the Wine” was the No. 1 most-added single at Country Radio this week. Among the Top Five singles were songs by three other female artists including Cam’s “Diane,” Lindsay Ell’s “Criminal” and Taylor Swift’s “New Year’s Day.”

Currently on Brett Young’s Caliville Tour, Pearce will perform at the Jack Daniel’s Music City Midnight: New Year’s Eve bash in Nashville along with Keith Urban, Maren Morris, Cheap Trick, Jonny P and the Fisk Jubilee Singers at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.